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Self-directed Learning
The goal of this class is to equip students with the tools and internal motivation to be life-long learners! Students will learn how to effectively learn about different fields of interest on their own, with lots of asynchronous guidance.
Class Experience
US Grade 8 - 11
Beginner - Advanced Level
This class aims to give students the tools and motivation to go and learn whatever they want to in their own time. Students have a lifetime of learning ahead of them. If they can develop an internal motivation to learn now, then it will pay dividends forever. Class sessions will be 55 minutes long, and the first lesson of each week will teach the methods of learning. This will include the following: how to find information online and how to get access to experts when the information is not...
10 lessons//5 Weeks
Week 1Lesson 1The Importance of Self-directed LearningWhy it matters to both have the motivation to learn on your own and the tools to do so.Lesson 2First Presentation DayStudents will present their learnings from that week to the class. The class will discuss the topics together. The aim is to facilitate curiosity and deep discussions. This session will also serve as a check-in on how the self-directed learning is coming along.Week 2Lesson 3How to Approach a New TopicThis class teaches the thought process of how to learn a new space from scratch. How can you figure out what the first principles of the space are? How can you identify what you should learn first?Lesson 4Second Presentation DayThe next presentation day will be similar to the first, but this time we will also talk about how to share learnings in a clear and concise way.Week 3Lesson 5Desktop ResearchHow can you use online resources to find out what you want to know? This covers everything from the newest AI tools, to how to go through academic journals.Lesson 6Third Presentation DayThis presentation day will focus on how to facilitate discussion while presenting.Week 4Lesson 7How to Approach ExpertsApproaching experts in the field and asking them questions is a great way to learn quickly. And when you are a student, your response rate from world-class experts can be shockingly high.Lesson 8Fourth Presentation DayThis presentation day will be self moderated, teaching students how to moderate a discussion.Week 5Lesson 9How to Stay MotivatedHow do you maintain internal motivation to learn? How do you balance learning goals with external motivations? This lesson aims to help each student stay motivated in the long-term.Lesson 10Final Presentation DayThis final presentation will involve a review of all the learning that they have done on their own.
- Being able to learn a new space on their own, utilizing all possible resources.
- Becoming internally motivated to pursue interests.
- Learning how to reach out to experts and get them to spend time teaching you.
I've been a self-directed learner for a long time. While I was a product manager at Uber and a student at Penn, I was always searching for startup ideas. I explored everything from building new form factors for reading to property management. I balanced school and work with this exploration, and eventually got funded by Y Combinator and General Catalyst. As a high schooler, I took 5 extra Cambridge A-levels by studying them on my own. This was externally motivated (I was trying to get into a good college), but it crystallized for me from an early age that learning on your own can be super effective.
4+ hours per week outside of class
Projects
Frequency: 3-6 throughout the classFeedback: includedDetails: Each week, the students will learn about the topic they are most interested in. Then they will present their learnings to the class. This presentation can be in any form they want - maybe they built something that they want to show the class, or maybe they want to teach about the topic they dove into.Progress Report
Frequency: 7 or more throughout the classDetails: I like to keep both students and parents updated on how things are going. I believe that measuring how things are going is very important for improving day over day.
This class is very accommodating of ADHD.
None.
They should have internet access and an email account to do research.
Joined July, 2024
Teacher expertise and credentials
Hello from San Francisco! I'm Oliver, I run an education-tech company backed by Y Combinator, and my main goal in teaching is to help students become internally motivated. I think motivation is the key to all learning. If someone is motivated to...
Reviews
Group Class
$20
weekly or $99 for 10 classes2x per week, 5 weeks
55 min
Live video meetings
Ages: 12-17
2-6 learners per class
